#crystallization — Public Fediverse posts

LLMs and crystallisation as a form of object relating

I thought this was interesting from Mari Ruti’s The Summons of Love pg 109:

Stendhal labels this process “crystallization,” describing it as follows: Leave a lover with his thoughts for twenty-four hours, and this is what will happen. At the salt mines of Salzburg, they throw a leafless wintry bough into one of the abandoned workings. Two or three months later they haul it out covered with a shining deposit of crystals. The smallest twig, no bigger than a tom-tit’s claw, is studded with a galaxy of scintillating diamonds. The original branch is no longer recognizable. What I have called crystallization is a mental process which draws from everything that happens new proofs of the perfection of the loved one. Crystallization endows the beloved with every possible perfection. Through it, the object of our desire, no matter how ordinary, is rendered extraordinary. As Stendhal specifies, crystallization implies “a certain fever of the imagination which translates a normally commonplace object into something unrecognizable, and makes it an entity apart.”

I don’t think this idealisation is narrowly romantic: it’s a particular mode of object relating in which a subject determinedly renders an object as sublime, seeing in every empirical facet of it evidence of the sublimity they have already ascribed to the object in their psyche. Essentially I think it’s a totalising way of reading back your own initial emotional response to the object into the nature of that object itself, in the process sharpening and entrenching the contours of that response.

It’s exactly the form of object-relating which I worry that LLMs make much easier. Object relating like this thrives on articulation. It’s through putting reactions to the object into words that those reactions begin to crystallise the object, inviting stronger and deeper expressions of the initial reaction. It’s an auto-catalytic process: the more you do it, the more you’re prone to doing it. The problem isn’t just model sycophancy (they’re much less likely to check this behaviour than a human interlocutor) but rather the epistemic constraints of being entirely text based and reliant on what the user shares with them.

It also makes me wonder if modes of object relating would be a useful analytical frame to bring towards the suffusion of LLMs into the lifeworld.

LLMs and crystallisation as a form of object relating

I thought this was interesting from Mari Ruti’s The Summons of Love pg 109:

Stendhal labels this process “crystallization,” describing it as follows: Leave a lover with his thoughts for twenty-four hours, and this is what will happen. At the salt mines of Salzburg, they throw a leafless wintry bough into one of the abandoned workings. Two or three months later they haul it out covered with a shining deposit of crystals. The smallest twig, no bigger than a tom-tit’s claw, is studded with a galaxy of scintillating diamonds. The original branch is no longer recognizable. What I have called crystallization is a mental process which draws from everything that happens new proofs of the perfection of the loved one. Crystallization endows the beloved with every possible perfection. Through it, the object of our desire, no matter how ordinary, is rendered extraordinary. As Stendhal specifies, crystallization implies “a certain fever of the imagination which translates a normally commonplace object into something unrecognizable, and makes it an entity apart.”

I don’t think this idealisation is narrowly romantic: it’s a particular mode of object relating in which a subject determinedly renders an object as sublime, seeing in every empirical facet of it evidence of the sublimity they have already ascribed to the object in their psyche. Essentially I think it’s a totalising way of reading back your own initial emotional response to the object into the nature of that object itself, in the process sharpening and entrenching the contours of that response.

It’s exactly the form of object-relating which I worry that LLMs make much easier. Object relating like this thrives on articulation. It’s through putting reactions to the object into words that those reactions begin to crystallise the object, inviting stronger and deeper expressions of the initial reaction. It’s an auto-catalytic process: the more you do it, the more you’re prone to doing it. The problem isn’t just model sycophancy (they’re much less likely to check this behaviour than a human interlocutor) but rather the epistemic constraints of being entirely text based and reliant on what the user shares with them.

It also makes me wonder if modes of object relating would be a useful analytical frame to bring towards the suffusion of LLMs into the lifeworld.

LLMs and crystallisation as a form of object relating

I thought this was interesting from Mari Ruti’s The Summons of Love pg 109:

Stendhal labels this process “crystallization,” describing it as follows: Leave a lover with his thoughts for twenty-four hours, and this is what will happen. At the salt mines of Salzburg, they throw a leafless wintry bough into one of the abandoned workings. Two or three months later they haul it out covered with a shining deposit of crystals. The smallest twig, no bigger than a tom-tit’s claw, is studded with a galaxy of scintillating diamonds. The original branch is no longer recognizable. What I have called crystallization is a mental process which draws from everything that happens new proofs of the perfection of the loved one. Crystallization endows the beloved with every possible perfection. Through it, the object of our desire, no matter how ordinary, is rendered extraordinary. As Stendhal specifies, crystallization implies “a certain fever of the imagination which translates a normally commonplace object into something unrecognizable, and makes it an entity apart.”

I don’t think this idealisation is narrowly romantic: it’s a particular mode of object relating in which a subject determinedly renders an object as sublime, seeing in every empirical facet of it evidence of the sublimity they have already ascribed to the object in their psyche. Essentially I think it’s a totalising way of reading back your own initial emotional response to the object into the nature of that object itself, in the process sharpening and entrenching the contours of that response.

It’s exactly the form of object-relating which I worry that LLMs make much easier. Object relating like this thrives on articulation. It’s through putting reactions to the object into words that those reactions begin to crystallise the object, inviting stronger and deeper expressions of the initial reaction. It’s an auto-catalytic process: the more you do it, the more you’re prone to doing it. The problem isn’t just model sycophancy (they’re much less likely to check this behaviour than a human interlocutor) but rather the epistemic constraints of being entirely text based and reliant on what the user shares with them.

It also makes me wonder if modes of object relating would be a useful analytical frame to bring towards the suffusion of LLMs into the lifeworld.

LLMs and crystallisation as a form of object relating

I thought this was interesting from Mari Ruti’s The Summons of Love pg 109:

Stendhal labels this process “crystallization,” describing it as follows: Leave a lover with his thoughts for twenty-four hours, and this is what will happen. At the salt mines of Salzburg, they throw a leafless wintry bough into one of the abandoned workings. Two or three months later they haul it out covered with a shining deposit of crystals. The smallest twig, no bigger than a tom-tit’s claw, is studded with a galaxy of scintillating diamonds. The original branch is no longer recognizable. What I have called crystallization is a mental process which draws from everything that happens new proofs of the perfection of the loved one. Crystallization endows the beloved with every possible perfection. Through it, the object of our desire, no matter how ordinary, is rendered extraordinary. As Stendhal specifies, crystallization implies “a certain fever of the imagination which translates a normally commonplace object into something unrecognizable, and makes it an entity apart.”

I don’t think this idealisation is narrowly romantic: it’s a particular mode of object relating in which a subject determinedly renders an object as sublime, seeing in every empirical facet of it evidence of the sublimity they have already ascribed to the object in their psyche. Essentially I think it’s a totalising way of reading back your own initial emotional response to the object into the nature of that object itself, in the process sharpening and entrenching the contours of that response.

It’s exactly the form of object-relating which I worry that LLMs make much easier. Object relating like this thrives on articulation. It’s through putting reactions to the object into words that those reactions begin to crystallise the object, inviting stronger and deeper expressions of the initial reaction. It’s an auto-catalytic process: the more you do it, the more you’re prone to doing it. The problem isn’t just model sycophancy (they’re much less likely to check this behaviour than a human interlocutor) but rather the epistemic constraints of being entirely text based and reliant on what the user shares with them.

It also makes me wonder if modes of object relating would be a useful analytical frame to bring towards the suffusion of LLMs into the lifeworld.

We watch the minerals alter their chemistry. Stripped of silk and power, their heavy greed crystallizes into pure geometry and quiet justice. 💎⚖️ #Crystallization #MineralAlchemy

#EGGE #LOWER #SAXON #HILLS multi-search-tag-explorer.aepiot.com/advanced-sea... #BELARUSIAN #PEOPLE S #REPUBLIC allgraph.ro?lang=en&q=BE... #CRYSTALLIZATION aepiot.ro?lang=en&q=CR... #THE #DEVIL #WEARS #PRADA 2 multi-search-tag-explorer.aepiot.com/advanced-sea... headlines-world.com

MultiSearch Tag Explorer

#EGGE #LOWER #SAXON #HILLS multi-search-tag-explorer.aepiot.com/advanced-sea... #BELARUSIAN #PEOPLE S #REPUBLIC allgraph.ro?lang=en&q=BE... #CRYSTALLIZATION aepiot.ro?lang=en&q=CR... #THE #DEVIL #WEARS #PRADA 2 multi-search-tag-explorer.aepiot.com/advanced-sea... headlines-world.com

MultiSearch Tag Explorer

Food Grade Ammonium Bicarbonate Market in the Netherlands | Report – IndexBox https://www.byteseu.com/1982162/ #biscuits) #Blending&PremixTechnology #CertainCookies(eG #CrispBakedGoods(crackers #Crystallization&Drying #Flatbreads #FoodGradeAmmoniumBicarbonate #forecast #Gingerbread #IngredientMarketReport #MarketAnalysis #Netherlands #ParticleSizeEngineering #PowderedDrinkMixes(acidityRegulator) #springerle #Synthetic(gasPhaseCarbonationOfAmmonia)

An acylated GLP-1/GIP analogue peptide forms a uniquely porous spiral crystal structure composed of clockwise-ascending monomers in a square pattern #GLP1 #Peptides #Crystallization https://doi.org/10.1107/S2053230X26001937

An acylated GLP-1/GIP analogue peptide forms a uniquely porous spiral crystal structure composed of clockwise-ascending monomers in a square pattern #GLP1 #Peptides #Crystallization https://doi.org/10.1107/S2053230X26001937

An acylated GLP-1/GIP analogue peptide forms a uniquely porous spiral crystal structure composed of clockwise-ascending monomers in a square pattern #GLP1 #Peptides #Crystallization https://doi.org/10.1107/S2053230X26001937

How to Grow Large Sugar Crystals

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://hackaday.com/2026/03/17/how-to-grow-large-sugar-crystals/

How to Grow Large Sugar Crystals

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://hackaday.com/2026/03/17/how-to-grow-large-sugar-crystals/

What are the effects of the presence of polyethylene glycol in macromolecular crystals? #PolyethyleneGlycol #Mechanism #Crystallization https://doi.org/10.1107/S2053230X2501043X

What are the effects of the presence of polyethylene glycol in macromolecular crystals? #PolyethyleneGlycol #Mechanism #Crystallization https://doi.org/10.1107/S2053230X2501043X

What are the effects of the presence of polyethylene glycol in macromolecular crystals? #PolyethyleneGlycol #Mechanism #Crystallization https://doi.org/10.1107/S2053230X2501043X

Manual Rotary Evaporators EZL-RE21 offer smooth, controlled solvent evaporation for concentration, purification, and sample preparation tasks in chemistry and research labs. Their ergonomic design and easy-to-operate controls support consistent performance for academic, industrial, and analytical workflows.

[email protected]

Learn More: https://www.ezilab.com/manual-rotary-evaporators/ezl-re21

#Ezilab #LaboratoryEvaporators #ManualRotaryEvaporators
#LabEquipment #crystallization

Crystallized honey ≠ spoilage; bespeaks purity. Attributes: low moisture (<18%), acidic pH (3.2-4.5), hydrogen peroxide. De-crystallization via warm water bath (<40°C). #FACTOVATE #Honey #FoodScience #Purity
#PureHoney #FoodMyths #NaturalFood
#FoodScience #HoneyMyths #Crystallization

https://factovate.com/does-crystallized-honey-mean-its-spoiled

Crystallized honey ≠ spoilage; bespeaks purity. Attributes: low moisture (<18%), acidic pH (3.2-4.5), hydrogen peroxide. De-crystallization via warm water bath (<40°C). #FACTOVATE #Honey #FoodScience #Purity
#PureHoney #FoodMyths #NaturalFood
#FoodScience #HoneyMyths #Crystallization

https://factovate.com/does-crystallized-honey-mean-its-spoiled

Crystallized honey ≠ spoilage; bespeaks purity. Attributes: low moisture (<18%), acidic pH (3.2-4.5), hydrogen peroxide. De-crystallization via warm water bath (<40°C). #FACTOVATE #Honey #FoodScience #Purity
#PureHoney #FoodMyths #NaturalFood
#FoodScience #HoneyMyths #Crystallization

https://factovate.com/does-crystallized-honey-mean-its-spoiled

Features of sample preparation that should be considered prior to biomolecular crystallization experiments are reviewed, as described in the SAMPREP workshop during the 73rd Annual ACA Meeting #Crystallization #XRayCrystallography #StructuralBiology https://doi.org/10.1107/S2053230X25004650

Features of sample preparation that should be considered prior to biomolecular crystallization experiments are reviewed, as described in the SAMPREP workshop during the 73rd Annual ACA Meeting #Crystallization #XRayCrystallography #StructuralBiology https://doi.org/10.1107/S2053230X25004650

Features of sample preparation that should be considered prior to biomolecular crystallization experiments are reviewed, as described in the SAMPREP workshop during the 73rd Annual ACA Meeting #Crystallization #XRayCrystallography #StructuralBiology https://doi.org/10.1107/S2053230X25004650

Building an X-Ray Crystallography Machine https://hackaday.com/2025/07/07/building-an-x-ray-crystallography-machine/ #x-raycrystallography #x-raydiffraction #crystallization #crystallography #HighVoltage #Science #X-Rays #x-ray

Building an X-Ray Crystallography Machine https://hackaday.com/2025/07/07/building-an-x-ray-crystallography-machine/ #x-raycrystallography #x-raydiffraction #crystallization #crystallography #HighVoltage #Science #X-Rays #x-ray

Building an X-Ray Crystallography Machine https://hackaday.com/2025/07/07/building-an-x-ray-crystallography-machine/ #x-raycrystallography #x-raydiffraction #crystallization #crystallography #HighVoltage #Science #X-Rays #x-ray

Building an X-Ray Crystallography Machine https://hackaday.com/2025/07/07/building-an-x-ray-crystallography-machine/ #x-raycrystallography #x-raydiffraction #crystallization #crystallography #HighVoltage #Science #X-Rays #x-ray

Building an X-Ray Crystallography Machine - X-ray crystallography, like mass spectroscopy and nuclear spectroscopy, is an ext... - https://hackaday.com/2025/07/07/building-an-x-ray-crystallography-machine/ #x-raycrystallography #x-raydiffraction #crystallization #crystallography #highvoltage #science #x-rays #x-ray

Building an X-Ray Crystallography Machine - X-ray crystallography, like mass spectroscopy and nuclear spectroscopy, is an ext... - https://hackaday.com/2025/07/07/building-an-x-ray-crystallography-machine/ #x-raycrystallography #x-raydiffraction #crystallization #crystallography #highvoltage #science #x-rays #x-ray

Building an X-Ray Crystallography Machine - X-ray crystallography, like mass spectroscopy and nuclear spectroscopy, is an ext... - https://hackaday.com/2025/07/07/building-an-x-ray-crystallography-machine/ #x-raycrystallography #x-raydiffraction #crystallization #crystallography #highvoltage #science #x-rays #x-ray

Building an X-Ray Crystallography Machine - X-ray crystallography, like mass spectroscopy and nuclear spectroscopy, is an ext... - https://hackaday.com/2025/07/07/building-an-x-ray-crystallography-machine/ #x-raycrystallography #x-raydiffraction #crystallization #crystallography #highvoltage #science #x-rays #x-ray

Building an X-Ray Crystallography Machine - X-ray crystallography, like mass spectroscopy and nuclear spectroscopy, is an ext... - https://hackaday.com/2025/07/07/building-an-x-ray-crystallography-machine/ #x-raycrystallography #x-raydiffraction #crystallization #crystallography #highvoltage #science #x-rays #x-ray

SciTech Chronicles. . . . . .May 15th, 2025

https://bit.ly/stc051525

#tectonic-like #deformation #recycling #Coronae #rhinoceros #genome #endangered #"stem cells" #Zangenite #crystallization #amorphus # #ordered #hydrothermal #"Juan de Fuca Ridge" #earthquakes #inflation #"hydrogen reservoirs" #natural #belowground #seals

SciTech Chronicles. . . . . .May 15th, 2025

https://bit.ly/stc051525

#tectonic-like #deformation #recycling #Coronae #rhinoceros #genome #endangered #"stem cells" #Zangenite #crystallization #amorphus # #ordered #hydrothermal #"Juan de Fuca Ridge" #earthquakes #inflation #"hydrogen reservoirs" #natural #belowground #seals

SciTech Chronicles. . . . . .May 15th, 2025

https://bit.ly/stc051525

#tectonic-like #deformation #recycling #Coronae #rhinoceros #genome #endangered #"stem cells" #Zangenite #crystallization #amorphus # #ordered #hydrothermal #"Juan de Fuca Ridge" #earthquakes #inflation #"hydrogen reservoirs" #natural #belowground #seals

SciTech Chronicles. . . . . .May 15th, 2025

https://bit.ly/stc051525

#tectonic-like #deformation #recycling #Coronae #rhinoceros #genome #endangered #"stem cells" #Zangenite #crystallization #amorphus # #ordered #hydrothermal #"Juan de Fuca Ridge" #earthquakes #inflation #"hydrogen reservoirs" #natural #belowground #seals

Crystals of His15 acetamide-modified lysozyme had similar unit-cell parameters to the unmodified tetragonal form but refinement was only possible in an orthorhombic system #AcylatedLysozyme #Crystallization #SpaceGroupAnalysis https://doi.org/10.1107/S2053230X2500010X

Crystals of His15 acetamide-modified lysozyme had similar unit-cell parameters to the unmodified tetragonal form but refinement was only possible in an orthorhombic system #AcylatedLysozyme #Crystallization #SpaceGroupAnalysis https://doi.org/10.1107/S2053230X2500010X

Crystals of His15 acetamide-modified lysozyme had similar unit-cell parameters to the unmodified tetragonal form but refinement was only possible in an orthorhombic system #AcylatedLysozyme #Crystallization #SpaceGroupAnalysis https://doi.org/10.1107/S2053230X2500010X

Unlike other serpins, human serpin B9 shows significant structural deviations around helix D, with a larger surface cavity, which could serve as a promising target for small-molecule inhibitors #Serpins #XRayCrystallography #Crystallization https://t.co/ilB7Aa3Krg

Unlike other serpins, human serpin B9 shows significant structural deviations around helix D, with a larger surface cavity, which could serve as a promising target for small-molecule inhibitors #Serpins #XRayCrystallography #Crystallization https://t.co/ilB7Aa3Krg

Unlike other serpins, human serpin B9 shows significant structural deviations around helix D, with a larger surface cavity, which could serve as a promising target for small-molecule inhibitors #Serpins #XRayCrystallography #Crystallization https://t.co/ilB7Aa3Krg

patterns of crystallization

#Dynamic #CrystallineForms #IntricatePatterns #IridescentHues #MetallicTextures #LightPlay #Crystallization #Img2Img #AiArt #AiArtists #StableDiffusion

this image, on actual things: https://fineartamerica.com/featured/patterns-of-crystallization-eris-and-ai.html?newartwork=true

patterns of crystallization

#Dynamic #CrystallineForms #IntricatePatterns #IridescentHues #MetallicTextures #LightPlay #Crystallization #Img2Img #AiArt #AiArtists #StableDiffusion

this image, on actual things: https://fineartamerica.com/featured/patterns-of-crystallization-eris-and-ai.html?newartwork=true

patterns of crystallization

#Dynamic #CrystallineForms #IntricatePatterns #IridescentHues #MetallicTextures #LightPlay #Crystallization #Img2Img #AiArt #AiArtists #StableDiffusion

this image, on actual things: https://fineartamerica.com/featured/patterns-of-crystallization-eris-and-ai.html?newartwork=true

patterns of crystallization

#Dynamic #CrystallineForms #IntricatePatterns #IridescentHues #MetallicTextures #LightPlay #Crystallization #Img2Img #AiArt #AiArtists #StableDiffusion

this image, on actual things: https://fineartamerica.com/featured/patterns-of-crystallization-eris-and-ai.html?newartwork=true

patterns of crystallization

#Dynamic #CrystallineForms #IntricatePatterns #IridescentHues #MetallicTextures #LightPlay #Crystallization #Img2Img #AiArt #AiArtists #StableDiffusion

this image, on actual things: https://fineartamerica.com/featured/patterns-of-crystallization-eris-and-ai.html?newartwork=true

❄️🧊 Rime #ice (also called “rimfrost” in Swedish 🇸🇪) #icetodon #winter #nature #snow #weather #tuesday #photography #Crystallization

❄️🧊 Rime #ice (also called “rimfrost” in Swedish 🇸🇪) #icetodon #winter #nature #snow #weather #tuesday #photography #Crystallization

❄️🧊 Rime #ice (also called “rimfrost” in Swedish 🇸🇪) #icetodon #winter #nature #snow #weather #tuesday #photography #Crystallization

❄️🧊 Rime #ice (also called “rimfrost” in Swedish 🇸🇪) #icetodon #winter #nature #snow #weather #tuesday #photography #Crystallization

❄️🧊 Rime #ice (also called “rimfrost” in Swedish 🇸🇪) #icetodon #winter #nature #snow #weather #tuesday #photography #Crystallization

🧪🔬🧊 Growing sodium chloride #salt #crystals. Here is a flat crystal, ~7.2 millimetres wide, seen with optical microscopy at 10X, 40X, 200X, and 400X. At high magnifications, we can see small crystalline domains in a highly ordered arrangement. #crystallization #science #microscopy #nature

🧪🔬🧊 Growing sodium chloride #salt #crystals. Here is a flat crystal, ~7.2 millimetres wide, seen with optical microscopy at 10X, 40X, 200X, and 400X. At high magnifications, we can see small crystalline domains in a highly ordered arrangement. #crystallization #science #microscopy #nature

🧪🔬🧊 Growing sodium chloride #salt #crystals. Here is a flat crystal, ~7.2 millimetres wide, seen with optical microscopy at 10X, 40X, 200X, and 400X. At high magnifications, we can see small crystalline domains in a highly ordered arrangement. #crystallization #science #microscopy #nature

New paper from David Baker's lab: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-023-01683-1
Computational design of #protein #crystals! 🤯
Spontaneous #crystallization by mixing two E. coli lysates. 🤯 🤯
Designed #protein #crystals that survive being autoclaved. 🤯 🤯 🤯

#crystallography #StructuralBiology

New paper from David Baker's lab: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-023-01683-1
Computational design of #protein #crystals! 🤯
Spontaneous #crystallization by mixing two E. coli lysates. 🤯 🤯
Designed #protein #crystals that survive being autoclaved. 🤯 🤯 🤯

#crystallography #StructuralBiology

New paper from David Baker's lab: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-023-01683-1
Computational design of #protein #crystals! 🤯
Spontaneous #crystallization by mixing two E. coli lysates. 🤯 🤯
Designed #protein #crystals that survive being autoclaved. 🤯 🤯 🤯

#crystallography #StructuralBiology

New paper from David Baker's lab: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-023-01683-1
Computational design of #protein #crystals! 🤯
Spontaneous #crystallization by mixing two E. coli lysates. 🤯 🤯
Designed #protein #crystals that survive being autoclaved. 🤯 🤯 🤯

#crystallography #StructuralBiology

"Garbage In, Garbage Out" - how many times have you heard this expression in structural biology?!?!

We are running a workshop on sample preparation techniques at the upcoming 2023 American Crystallographic Association meeting July 7, 2023 in Baltimore, MD - register by June 30!

https://www.acameeting.com/workshop2-sam23

#structural #SAXS #cryoem #crystallization #crystallography #lightscattering #AUC #workshop #structuralbiology